


temporary bliss

by ierxv



Category: Video Blogging RPF, Youtube RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Breaking Up & Making Up, Coming Out, Fluff, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Jealousy, M/M, Not Underage, Secret Relationship, Septiplier - Freeform, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-02-28
Packaged: 2018-09-14 13:07:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9183070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ierxv/pseuds/ierxv
Summary: Jack thinks there's nothing more frustrating than a boyfriend that isn't openly into guys. When said boyfriend starts dating girls to hide their relationship from others, Jack decides he's had enough.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by 'temporary bliss' by The Cab

It was the breeze coming from outside causing the window to fly fully open that woke Jack from his sleep. His eyes opened slowly, trying to adjust to the brightness that surrounded the room. It wasn't until someone's arm tightened its hold around his waist that he realized he couldn't sit up. He turned his head a bit and couldn't help but smile when his chin lightly bumped against a blob of messy red hair.  
  
"Hey," he spoke against the other's forehead. "Wake up."  
  
"Mhmm."  
  
"Mark. Come on. It's already-" he mumbled and reached for his wristwatch on the nightstand to check what time it was. "Half past eleven."  
  
"Whatever," Mark raised his head a little and leaned in for a kiss, only to be pushed away by Jack's hand.  
  
"No way. Brush your teeth, you still smell like beer," Jack laughed and managed to free himself from the embrace. He stood up and looked around. "Where are my clothes?"  
  
"I don't know," Mark sighed, now leaning on his elbow. "Check the living room, I think we started there."  
  
"Right," Jack said and looked away, not willing to give Mark the opportunity to tease him about blushing at the other's words. He walked out of Mark's bedroom and found his clothes. After getting dressed he decided to make some coffee.  
  
  
  
  
"Would've been nice to just stay in bed the whole day," the red haired man sneaked behind Jack, nearly causing him to drop the coffeepot when he wrapped his arms around him and rested his chin on his shoulder.  
  
"Put your clothes on," Jack gave a short laugh and put the coffeepot down before turning around, leaning against the edge of the countertop. "When's Ray coming back?"  
  
"He won't be here until tomorrow," Mark spoke and ran his hands up and down Jack's sides, occasionally letting them slip under the hem of his hoodie. "Imagine if I didn't have a roommate. You'd be able to come here anytime, we could do whatever we wanted whenever we wanted to."  
  
"Or you could just tell him you're with me," Jack said, the playfulness from before now gone. Mark's hands stopped wandering.  
  
"We've talked about this," Mark sighed and turned away, picking his jeans up from the floor and putting them on along with his flannel. "You know I can't do that."  
  
Jack turned around too, pouring coffee into two mugs, took one of them and sat down on one of the chairs in the kitchen. He didn't say anything for a while and avoided Mark's eyes when he sat down on the other side of the table.  
  
"Your friends are complete idiots if they'd just throw you away because you're dating a guy," Jack hissed and met the other's eyes.  
  
"It's not about my friends," Mark shifted in his chair and leaned back. "I know it's stupid but my team would kick me out. I can't risk this. When high school is over I promise we won't have to do this anymore. Just half a year."  
  
"Why is basketball so important to you?" Jack looked down again and bit his lip. He shouldn't have questioned it, it was completely normal for hobbies to be a big part of someone's life but sometimes it felt like he himself would always be just a second option for Mark.  
  
The other didn't answer - or didn't have time to - so Jack stood up, leaving his coffee there. He took his backpack from the floor, walked to the door and left. He should've probably checked if he had left anything there but decided not to turn back. He had his phone and the keys to his apartment which was enough, he'd come back the next day if he forgot something. He heard a faint call of his name after closing the door but ignored it.  
  
  
  
  
"Whoa, what's wrong?" Felix, one of Jack's roommates, asked as he stormed in, the door slamming shut behind him.  
  
"Nothing's wrong," Jack huffed, annoyance audible in his voice. He glanced at Felix and saw his girlfriend there too. "I mean- um, sorry. I'm just tired."  
  
"Could it be that a certain redhead kept you awake all night?" Felix said suggestively and mumbled a quiet  _ouch_ as Marzia elbowed him for asking about Jack's private stuff. Jack glared at Felix and disappeared into his room, thankful for the fact that Ken hadn't been there to tease him too. He was even worse than Felix.  
  
Everyone knew Jack liked guys - it was never really a secret, he hadn't bothered to keep it to himself. He did get bullied for it at first but when people realized he didn't give a fuck about what others thought, they lost interest in him quickly.   
  
Few people knew he was with Mark, Jack had told Felix and Ken and eventually Marzia too, he knew his group of friends wouldn't spread it around. The redhead was _known_ for being a womanizer, kind of, which was the biggest load of bullshit Jack had ever heard.   
  
People didn't know Mark the way Jack did - Mark wasn't the tough guy people thought he was.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for the comments on the first chapter, i appreciate it!! <3
> 
> if y'all see any grammar mistakes etc please tell me, my english tends to suck at times

The next weekend rolled around pretty quickly despite all the dull schoolwork Jack just couldn't concentrate on. He had secretly hoped to run into Mark in the hallway or something, he wanted to talk to him about what had happened but at the same time he felt like a little distance wasn't bad. It had been a week of no contact at all between them, which was starting to bug him. It made him feel like Mark didn't care.   
  
Jack dropped his backpack to the floor and sat down on the bed, his phone in his hands. After fumbling it for a short while he decided to call Mark, he wasn't mad anymore. Not that he was in the first place, the situation just annoyed him sometimes.  
  
"Hey," he heard the other answer.  
  
"Hey, uh- I was thinking..." Jack hesitated for a second but continued. "Can you come over? Like, right now?"  
  
"Sure," Mark said and Jack might have imagined it but he sounded a little nervous. "I'm on my way."  
  
  
  
  
It didn't take more than twenty minutes for Mark to arrive at Jack's place. He knocked on the door and followed Jack into his room.  
  
"I'm sorry I left like that," Jack spoke and sat on the bed again, patting the mattress next to him, and Mark sat down too. "I know it's not that simple."  
  
"You shouldn't be sorry," Mark sighed, looking down, as if he had done something wrong. "I get it if you sometimes get angry at me for this but I really wanna be with you."  
  
"I wanna be with you too."  
  
"So we're okay?" Mark said and looked up.  
  
"Yeah," Jack smiled faintly. He was about to ask if Mark would stay the night since it was Friday and neither of them had anything planned for Saturday but realized that he would have to go back to his place and pack some stuff. They had made a deal some time ago that Saturdays would be 'their days', as cheesy as it sounded, but it was actually pretty convenient as they didn't get to hang out that much otherwise.   
  
On the other hand, why wouldn't Mark survive  _one_ night without spare clothes or a toothbrush?  
  
"Do you have anything planned for tonight?" Jack spoke after a while and leaned closer.  
  
"Nothing I can't cancel," Mark smiled and bumped his forehead against Jack's. "You got something in mind?"  
  
"Maybe," Jack tilted his head a little and spoke so close to the other's face he could feel every breath he took. He parted his lips slightly when Mark's hand made its way up to his neck and pulled him closer, the tension in his shoulders disappearing when their lips connected. It wasn't slow or gentle like it usually was at first. Mark used his hand on the other's neck to tilt his head backwards to get more access, a small, barely audible whine escaping Jack's throat.   
  
It ended way too soon to Jack's liking as Mark pulled back.  
  
"Are your roommates here?" he asked, a little out of breath.  
  
"I think they are."  
  
"It's so quiet though," Mark said and ran a hand through his hair to get it out of his face. "They usually never seem to shut up."  
  
"I know," Jack laughed and glanced at the clock on a wall behind Mark. "So you're staying?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
  
  
  
It was usually Jack who woke up first and this time was no different. His bed was smaller than Mark's so it was a little challenging to fit two bodies there (without one of them falling off in the middle of the night) but they managed.   
  
Jack sat up and stretched his arms over his head, grunting quietly at the slight pain he felt in his back. That was why they preferred spending as many nights as they could at Mark's place; they didn't need to squeeze into such a small space there.  
  
Mark seemed to wake up too as Jack heard a yawn from behind him.   
  
"Mornin'," Jack mumbled and stood up, putting on his sweatpants, not bothering with a shirt.  
  
"Jack."  
  
"Mhm?"  
  
"I had to tell you something yesterday," Mark sat up and sounded quite serious all of a sudden. "This is gonna upset you but just... please understand."  
  
"What?" Jack started to worry and sat down on his chair, staring at the other.  
  
"So. You know how Jake has tried to set me up with some girls from school?" Mark started and Jack nodded slowly. "Well, I've always refused to go on any dates with them and Jake's starting to suspect something."  
  
"And?"  
  
"And," Mark took a deep breath before speaking. "I agreed to see one of the girls tomorrow."  
  
Silence. Mark had expected anger, maybe some yelling, anything but silence.   
  
"Jack?"  
  
"What do you want me to say?" Jack looked away, hating the way his voice cracked at the end of the sentence.  
  
"I-"  
  
"You want me to understand?" he said, much quieter this time. "It's bad enough that we have to keep all of this secret and now you want me to  _understand_ that you're getting a girlfriend?"  
  
"I wouldn't actually date her, just... show up with her occasionally and-"  
  
"Fuck off."  
  
"Jack."  
  
" _Fuck off._ "  
  
  



	3. Chapter 3

For Jack's relief it didn't take much to convince Mark to leave. He was in some weird way proud of himself for not breaking down in the other's presence. Sure, they were really close and he had in fact cried in front of Mark but it was never because of him. Usually he would find comfort in Mark's company but now that the redhead was the  _reason_ for his disappointment and anger - or maybe not anger, he was more upset than angry - it just made things worse to even think about him. But he just couldn't help it.  
  
Jack wasn't sure how long he had been sitting on his bed and staring at the wall on the opposite side of the room. Five minutes? Half an hour? Probably the latter, at least it felt like it. He jumped a bit when someone knocked on the door and called his name. It took him a few seconds to recognize the voice and realize it was Felix.   
  
"Yeah?" he straightened his back as the door opened and his friend's head peeked inside.  
  
"I was thinking-" Felix spoke but stopped suddenly when he saw the other. "You okay?"  
  
Jack looked puzzled for a moment and blinked, noticing that his eyes were still wet. He wiped them quickly on the sleeves of his oversized hoodie that he had put on after Mark had left. He furrowed his brows at the thought of his so-called boyfriend.  
  
"Um. Yes, I-" Jack stuttered and paused to take a deep breath. "I'm fine. What were you saying?"  
  
Felix looked at him suspiciously but seemed to accept the answer and continued. "There's a party tonight at Ken's friend's house and we thought we'd ask you to come too."  
  
"I don't think I'm in the mood for that," Jack said and looked at the floor. "But thanks."  
  
"Come on. I saw how Mark left earlier and I'm not gonna ask what happened but it will cheer you up," Felix said. "Marzia is with her friends today so I can hang out with you the whole night."  
  
"Okay, fine," Jack sighed and forced a smile. "I'll think about it."  
  
"Alright. Be ready at seven," Felix smiled back at him and before Jack could say that what he had meant was 'maybe' and not 'yes', his friend disappeared and the door closed.  
  
Jack let his shoulders slump down and bumped the back of his head against the wall behind him, staring up at the ceiling. This could give him something else to think about, he hadn't spent much time with his friends lately. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all.  
  
  
  
  
Jack still hesitated when he and Felix walked through the front garden of the house - Jack didn't even know whose house, he hadn't asked. It didn't really matter. Someone's parents must have been the actual owners of it, the house was huge. They didn't see anyone outside but they heard noise from the backyard.  
  
"I don't feel like going into the crowd," Jack looked at his friend and back at the house. A couple of windows were open and they saw people inside.  
  
"Me neither," Felix said and patted Jack's shoulder. "Wait here. I'll get us something to drink."  
  
"Okay."  
  
He watched as Felix walked up the stairs of the front porch and went inside. He felt a little awkward just standing there but before he had time to find a better place to wait someone walked straight into him from behind and he stumbled forward a little.  
  
"Oh. My apologies," Jack heard someone say mockingly. He turned around, already rolling his eyes at the fact that someone  _still_ bothered. He didn't get to snap back at whoever had shoved him when his breath caught in his throat after seeing three people there - some guy he didn't know, Jake from the basketball team... and Mark.   
  
"What?" Jake laughed at Jack's expression, he was apparently the one that had pushed him. He said something and laughed more - Jack didn't listen, he didn't care. He kept looking at Mark who stared back for a second before looking away.  
  
"Fucking finally," someone yelled from the porch and Jack sighed in relief when all three of them walked past him and greeted the girl that had seemingly been waiting for them. They went inside and not long after that Felix came out of the door with two bottles of something, probably beer.  
  
The two walked to the backyard, pleased to find a free yard swing in the back of the plot. The backyard was big too, there were a lot of bushes and flowerbeds, small trees here and there, so it wasn't just one massive lawn of grass. They couldn't see the other side of the yard from where they were because of all the stuff that had been planted there, which was nice.  
  
Jack had considered not talking about his situation to anyone but if there was one person he could wholly trust with these things, it was Felix. He took a sip of his drink and opened his mouth to speak but all of a sudden Ken appeared from somewhere.  
  
"Hey," he exclaimed happily. "What's up?"  
  
"Are you drunk already? Seriously?" Felix gave a laugh at how wobbly Ken's walking seemed like.  
  
"No," Ken laughed and almost tripped on his own feet. "I don't know. Maybe a little."  
  
He fist bumped Felix and waved at Jack before walking away, disappearing behind some unnaturally large shrub, leaving both Jack and Felix a little amazed at how he didn't fall over.  
  
"Do you think he'll be okay?" Jack asked, a little concerned. Felix shrugged.  
  
"Knowing him, he'll still be bouncing around at two in the morning without a care in the world."  
  
"Probably," Jack laughed after a while.  
  
"Were you gonna say something?" Felix glanced at him.  
  
"Uh- yeah," Jack thought about his words for a moment, which he realized to be useless when he opened his mouth again. "Mark's dating a girl."  
  
"He's dating a girl?" Felix repeated the other's words in disbelief. "I thought you two were, like, inseparable."  
  
"Far from that," Jack hissed and looked down. "I mean, we're technically still together. He's just dating a girl."  
  
"So it's like an open relationship kind of thing?"  
  
"No _._ _God,_  no," Jack groaned and leaned back. "He said he's gonna see some girl tomorrow and that's gonna end the rumors about him not being into girls."  
  
"And it didn't cross his mind to ask what you might possibly think about it?"  
  
"Apparently not."  
  
Both of them were silent for a moment. Felix tried to think of something to say to cheer his friend up, Jack just stared forward. He saw a glimpse of familiar red hair somewhere behind the bushes in front of them and as he corrected his sitting position, he could see Mark and Jake there with a group of some random guys and a couple of girls he had seen at school. One of them was in the same math class as him and he had actually talked to her a few times - he wouldn't call it friendship but he knew her, kind of.   
  
Felix had apparently noticed the same that Jack had and stretched his neck as much as he could to see better. They both just watched as the girl Jack knew, Audrey, walked over to Mark and sat down unnecessarily close to him on the couch there. Jack forgot how to breathe for a few seconds as she leaned closer and whispered something in Mark's ear. His heart forgot how to  _beat_ when Mark threw his arm over her shoulders and  _kissed her._    
  
Jack's head felt like it was spinning, he didn't even remember the fact that Mark was supposed to meet the girl tomorrow, not today. He leaned back again, he didn't want to see any more of it. Mark saw him there when he arrived with Jake and that other guy, didn't he realize Jack could see him with Audrey?   
  
Didn't he  _care_ _?_


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh wow look who completely abandoned this fic for one and a half months lmao sorry i'm a failure

After a few minutes of just staring at the bush in front of him and contemplating whether he should stay or go home, Jack decided he wasn't going to wait and see how far Mark would be willing to go  _just_ to 'save his reputation', if you could call it that. He glanced at Felix who still seemed to be at loss for words.  
  
"I'm leaving," Jack said and coughed to clear his throat, it felt like speaking had become a whole lot harder than what it had been just a moment ago. He felt a lump in his throat but ignored it. He wasn't going to cry.  _He wasn't going to fucking cry._  
  
"I'm coming with you," Felix stood up after Jack and straightened the hem of his button-up.  
  
"You don't have to," Jack tried to sound convincing. To be honest, he could use some company but on the other hand, he didn't want to be a burden. "You can stay and have some fun."  
  
"Pfft. You saw how wasted Ken was and he's the only one here that I really know," Felix laughed. "Besides, I don't feel like getting drunk."  
  
They were just about to leave the garden when Jack looked back - he knew he shouldn't have, it would just make things more painful, but he looked. He didn't tear his gaze away when Mark saw him and stared. There was something in his expression that visibly changed when he saw the other but Jack didn't have time to detect what exactly it was when Felix placed a hand on his upper back and guided him out of there.  
  
Before he knew it they were walking towards their apartment, which wasn't very far away, just about fifteen minutes from there.   
  
  
  
  
It was somewhere around midnight when Jack slumped down onto his bed and yawned in exhaustion. The day had been more tiring mentally than physically. He had returned from the party a couple of hours ago and played some video games with Felix and it had taken his thoughts elsewhere, but now that there was nothing to distract him from what he saw, he couldn't help but let his mind wander. Could he continue being with Mark if it was going to be like this from now on? _Was it over?_  
  
His thoughts were rudely interrupted by someone fiddling with the doorknob before the door flew open and that someone stormed in. Jack sat up faster than probably ever before. He didn't know if he should say something or stand up - probably the latter - when his brain registered the fact that it was Mark who stood there at the door of his room. He sat there, frozen in place, when Felix stepped behind Mark with an unreadable expression.  
  
"Sorry," Felix said, breaking the unbelievably awkward silence between them. Then he looked at Mark. "I said he should fuck off."  
  
"We gotta talk," Mark said, his eyes fixated on Jack the whole time, his speech a little slurred. He ignored Felix completely.   
  
Jack thought about it for a minute, his gaze going from Felix to Mark and then back to Felix. He nodded at his friend to silently tell him it was okay for him to leave them alone. Felix frowned, he didn't look like he was willing to do that but he left and closed the door behind him. Jack straightened his back and shifted a bit so he was sitting a little more comfortably, but didn't ask Mark to sit down next to him like he usually did whenever they had to talk about something serious.  
  
"I don't think there's anything you can say right now to make me forgive you," Jack mumbled and looked at his hands on his lap. Mark didn't say anything. Could it be that he thought Jack hadn't seen him kiss Audrey?  
  
"Were you going to say something?" Jack asked and finally looked up when Mark still didn't reply. Jack knew the conversation wouldn't go anywhere, Mark was visibly drunk. Not as drunk as Ken had been but close.  
  
"Don't be mad."  
  
Great. Awesome. Spectacular. Just what Jack needed. As if a simple 'don't be mad' would solve anything. Not even Mark's logic could reach that level of stupidity.  
  
"We should break up," Jack spoke before thinking about it that much - he didn't  _want_ to think about it. What he wanted at the moment was for Mark to leave. He couldn't look at him in the eye when he said it, he didn't want to see the hurt or confusion or whatever the fuck the other was feeling. It would just make Jack regret it and give his boyfriend - now possibly his ex-boyfriend - yet another chance to mess with him. They would always end up here as long as Mark couldn't let go of his current reputation.  
  
"What?" Mark said, barely audible, and stepped closer to the other. Jack could feel himself tearing up despite his attempts to hide his feelings.  
  
"You heard me," Jack spoke and swallowed the lump in his throat. "Please go."  
  
"No, I-"   
  
"Mark."  
  
He stared at Jack for several moments. It probably wasn't more than ten seconds but it felt more like ten minutes. Jack felt himself take a long breath when Mark was out of the door.  


End file.
